Kent Murders (Sutton True Crime History)

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In 2017, Stone’s legal team – who admit in the documentary that at this stage they had reached a “dead end” – received a letter from a prisoner who said Levi Bellfield had confessed to the Russell murders. Richard Leivers – the Kent Police officer who saw the dead bodies and carried Josie Russell from the copse when he noticed she was still alive – speaks of the profound impact it still has on him all these years later. “Nothing,” he reflects, “could prepare me for what I saw.” Constance Kent was unusually strong — and “she appears to possess a very strong mind,” Whicher said. She also slept alone and had hidden things in the outhouse in the past. The evidence was fundamentally the same – Daley again providing the one key piece of non-circumstantial evidence linking Stone to the killings. Again, Stone was convicted. The full list has been revealed by Kent Police and, despite many fresh appeals as well as more modern forensic techniques, the killers of these 40 people have never been caught.

The Kent family lived in the peaceful village of Road in Wiltshire. Their home, known as Road House Hill, was an elegant setting for the family of nine and their three servants. Ashley Dighton was last seen at Sainsbury's Bybrook in Simone Weil Avenue, Ashford on June 11, 2007. Yet it was there his cell neighbour, Damien Daley – held on charges of arson and robbery – claimed to have heard Stone admit to the crimes again. His testimony, would, eventually, see Stone jailed. Twice. A 47-year-old woman, also from Coulsdon, has also been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. All five remain in custody. The Russell Murders: Who Killed Lin and Megan? is a well-crafted three-part series showing on Sky Documentaries – an in-depth look at the case and once again poses the question...did Stone actually do it? But does it shed any new light on the case all these years later? Does it provide anything other than conjecture on the case?

Constance Kent Fascinated The Press — And Even Charles Dickens

Miss Knell's body was left in her bedsit by the murderer, whereas Miss Pierce's was dumped on Romney Marsh.

As his defence barrister during the case, KC William Clegg, tells the documentary: “I felt the verdict was against the weight of the evidence.” Her dog was found on its own in Minnis Bay by officers on Wednesday. Her car, a silver Suzuki, was found parked in the village of Saint Nicholas-at-Wade, where she is believed to have walked from.

He concludes: “Josie and Shaun Russell blame me for that crime. It really tears me apart thinking they think I did that. That’s the worst part of it. I want them to know I didn’t do that.” Dr Shaun Russell and his surviving daughter Josie moved out of Kent after the murder The impact on the people involved in those first moments is both harrowing and clearly emotional all these years later. Michael Stone has been behind bars since he was first arrested in 1997 The judge at Maidstone Crown Court instructed the jury that if they did not believe Daley’s testimony, Stone should be acquitted. Claire Knights was last seen in Upstreet near Canterbury on Wednesday. It is believed she was walking her dog in the village to Minnis Bay in Birchington, where she was reportedly seen that afternoon.

The answer is ‘probably not’ but it does do a very fine job in highlighting the key elements of such a grisly crime. Police found the body in a location near Minnis Bay at 7pm on Friday after being alerted by a member of the public. Formal identification has not yet taken place, but police have informed Knights’ family. Hulton Archive/Getty Images Constance Kent was 16 years old when her brother’s body was found behind her house.

Scotland Yard Investigates The Murder Of Francis Savile Kent

The only physical evidence connecting Constance to the crime was a missing nightdress — that Whicher believed Constance was wearing when she killed the child.

DI Lee Neiles, of the Kent and Essex serious crime directorate, said: “We thank those who have come forward with information so far and we are continuing to appeal for witnesses. It is crucial that we speak to anyone who may have heard or seen anything suspicious, just after midnight. Police arrested Gough on the hunch. Rumors swirled that she confessed — and named father Samuel Kent as her lover. But the nursemaid didn’t confess, and the police eventually released her. It was about seven in the morning,” says Stone, speaking from HMP Frankland in Durham, as he recalls the moment in July 1997 when he was arrested close to his home in Gillingham. He was 37 at the time.

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The man who killed her is still on the loose and he is believed to be a serial killer who five months later targeted another young woman in the town, Caroline Pierce.